40pc of Young Girls Eaten by Guilt Over Food
In a stunning revelation by a recent retail study of young people and what they eat, it was found that almost 40 percent of young girls are feeling guilty about what they eat.
This is likely brought on by media pressure to be thin, with the world's top female models, pop stars, actresses and TV personalities all portraying the slender look is best attitude.
This creates a lot of stress, low self esteem and lack of confidence in those who really shouldn't even be concerned with these issues, at least not until they are older where up to four in ten are eaten with guilt and anxiety as they open a bag of potato chips or unwrap a candy bar.
Thoughts of diet and exercise often don't even come into the frame until the problem has become advanced.
Disturbing Trend
This disturbing trend has been highlighted in recent research that suggests millions of young people are having what can best be described as a dysfunctional relationship with the food they eat.
Retail analysts in the UK, Mintel have said that in particular girls are much more prone to eating to help them cope with a stressful situation. This may be a trait handed down from their mothers, who they copy. Girls more than boys are also more apt to comfort eat when they are unhappy.
If you put these findings together with evidence that shows teenage girls are exercising less than boys and you have a greater risk of them gaining weight and a drop in health and fitness levels.
Look at the Statistics
The statistics paint a gloomy picture when they show that around 12.5 million children and minors aged 2—19 years are obese in the US. In the UK 3 in 10 children, which comes out at around 3.47 million are defined as obese or grossly overweight.
Around 40 percent of girls who are in the 11 to 15 age bracket experience some guilt over the things they eat and often go on various diets such as Nutrisystem or Diet-to-Go or take herbal fat limiting supplements such as Clinislim, Decatrim or Proactol XS as a result.
The figure for boys was 20 per cent. Michelle Strutton, of Mintel, said: "Feeling guilty about eating is more common among girls."
How can this situation be dealt with effectively? Better nutritional education is generally the key to understanding what effect certain foods have on our physiology, however there is a wide chasm between what can be learned in a classroom and what happens outside of it.
*Source: CDC
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Posted on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 in News | 2 Comments
2 thoughts on "40pc of Young Girls Eaten by Guilt Over Food"
Kelly says:
I'm 14 and I don't feel guilty about what I eat. Probably because I learned a lot from my health-conscious parents about what's good and what's not good to eat. School doesn't teach you anything worth knowing!
Terry says:
That's great Kelly! A lot of the problem stems from lack of the right kind of education on food and nutrition at a time when you need it most - at school! Shout out to your parents for filling that gap and providing the kind of knowledge that is pure gold.